Much to the delight of League Pass junkies everywhere, Swaggy P is back in Doug Collins’ 76ers rotation. Young played a total of just 24 minutes during a recent three-game stretch, but the Sixers went 1-2 and averaged a mere 86 points in blowout losses to the Raptors and Hornets. Having watched these offensive debacles, Coach Collins must’ve come to the conclusion that Swaggy, erratic as he is, is a necessary evil off the bench, as he’s played more than 29 minutes in three straight games. As a matter of fact, just last night Young experienced his second most extensive stint of the season, playing over 32 minutes in a 110-102 loss to Milwaukee. While his 20-point effort helped the Sixers reach the century mark for just the fourth time in 16 games, it didn’t help them contain the Bucks, who shot 52% from the floor.

So anyway, the Sixers are 2-4 in their last six — 1-2 with Swaggy out of the rotation, and 1-2 with Swaggy in the rotation. Obviously, they just aren’t a very good team. Nick Young is neither the sole source of nor solution to their problems, and if it’s truly going to be a wash then Collins may as well keep the Swaggy switch in the “on” position. As Hall of Famer Don Nelson once [probably] said, “if you’re going to lose, you might as well entertain.”

And Swaggy does indeed entertain. With a rare combination of power and grace, watch him do the single most entertaining thing that any NBA player did on the night of January 22nd, 2013.

Needless to say, Swaggy certainly lived up to his nickname with this one. The way he gathered without ever touching the ball with his off hand added a nice degree of flair, and the screaming somersault into the cameramen was the cherry on top of a filthy slam dunk sundae. The backboard-rattling force with which he threw down over the league’s leading shot blocker was obviously impressive as well. What really speaks volumes about the magnitude of this poster, though, is the reaction of Larry Sanders — not during the game, but afterwards:

Throwback Poster of the Day: This is actually a missed attempt by Vince Carter (got fouled), but it’s more spectacular than most makes. I recall watching this game — notice that Stromile Swift is on the floor — and seeing this live, thinking it was one of the most incredible misses I’d ever seen. I think it still is…

There are a lot of things I don’t understand about the following play. Watch carefully and you’ll likely notice a few of them. For instance, why did Andre Iguodala let James Harden blow right by him without even making a move? Why were two Denver Nuggets looking and pointing at Patrick Patterson? Why did the officials not call a foul on Kosta Koufos? Why is there no video of it outside of the game highlights? Why are these particular highlights from this Youtuber, whose videos I always use, such crappy quality?

I’m totally confused not only by this play, but by this entire game. Normally, Youtube is spammed with like 100 different versions of every single half-decent play that takes place in each and every NBA game. There’s almost nothing from this game. Why?

Honorable mentions to DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmy Butler… neither of whom had dunks as good as Harden’s, but both of whom received a lot of HQ video love.

Was someone was out to prevent James Harden from tying Jeff Green with his third POTD of the season? If so, he’s probably pretty pissed off at the Nuggets right now. Next time, Denver, why not lay rose petals in the path to the rack?

Yeah I only saw the Javale dunk on youtube for a while but now the other dunks are trickling in, the game itself wasn't remarkable but at least there were multiple decent dunks from both sides, here's a better quality version of that Harden dunk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkkI_HB_kbk&t=25s No slow-mo replay for this one though.

Yeah I only saw the Javale dunk on youtube for a while but now the other dunks are trickling in, the game itself wasn't remarkable but at least there were multiple decent dunks from both sides, here's a better quality version of that Harden dunk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkkI_HB_kbk&t=25s No slow-mo replay for this one though.

I'd have put it to vote had I been able to find that dunk. I didn't think to check all the videos with the Chinese writing and shit.

Faried really got knocked onto his ass def an inopportune time to step in front.
Got lucky with the vid, it was one of the only bball ones when I searched Asik and filtered for today, heh. I usually search up good plays an hour or so after games, but this one and the Harden one took until today to show up.

It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish. The old adage has kind of become an unfortunate theme for the 16-27 Raptors, as they’ve developed a habit of stealing defeat from the jaws of victory this season. On Thursday, however, DeMaR DeRoZaN would change all that and deliver the Raptors their first buzzer-beating win in six long years. DeRoZaN got off to a slow start, scoring just eight points through the first three quarters, but he’d finish with 22, including each of his team’s final six. Although the majority of his field goals were jump shots, DeRoZaN did elect to attack the paint on a few occasions, once finishing with a right-handed slam over E’Twaun Moore. Skip to the 2:53 mark.

Needless to say, legends aren’t made in 10-point Thunder victories over the Kings. Travis Outlaw two-handed facials on the league’s tallest player are, though!

As I mentioned in the title of this morning’s Assorted Observations post, Friday night in the NBA featured 10 games decided by an average of 14.4 points. Surely, this left many a basketball fan feeling more than a little bummed out. Me, though? I rather enjoyed all of the garbage time. In a way, the NBA is like a selection of movies — I love a good thriller, sure… but sometimes I’m in the mood for a comedy. A quality beatdown is like a hilarious comedy. OKC @ SAC delivered.

This is actually Outlaw’s response to being stuffed by Thabeet on an earlier dunk attempt. That’s the reason for the mini stare down, which Travis appears to quickly think better of when he presumably remembers what’s going on on the scoreboard. See, that’s funny to me!